We studied the response of biochemical markers of bone metabolism to exercise intensity in horses. Four horses were walked on a mechanical walker for one week (pre-exercise). Then they performed low-speed exercise on a high-speed treadmill in the first week and medium-speed exercise in the second week and high-speed exercise ...

Trace element determination can be applied in forensic medicine to diagnose the cause of death. Drowning is the second leading cause of death from unintentional injury. Despite the many diagnostic methods used, the post-mortem diagnosis of drowning continues to be one of the most difficult in forensic pathology. Strontium is ...

Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children and accounts for 1 in 5 of all child GP consultations. This paper reviews and discusses recent literature outlining the growing problem of physical inactivity among young people with asthma and explores the psychosocial dimensions that may explain inactivity levels and ...

As a marker of inflammation, exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH may be a useful screening tool in the evaluation of asthma, especially in a military recruit population. To evaluate the utility of EBC pH in the diagnosis of asthma, EBC pH levels were determined in basic military trainees prior to ...

Exercise-associated hyponatremia is the most common medical complication of ultradistance exercise and is usually caused by excessive hypotonic fluid intake. We report a case of severe hyponatremia in a healthy male trekking the Kokoda Trail in the remote Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. A 43-year-old male collapsed and had ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review bronchial provocations tests used in the measurement of bronchial hyperresponsiveness to help in the diagnosis of asthma. RECENT FINDINGS: The bronchial provocations tests reviewed include exercise, methacholine, AMP and mannitol, with reference to methodology and monitoring of treatment. SUMMARY: Methacholine is used for identifying bronchial ...

BACKGROUND: The leukotriene inhibitor montelukast has been recommended against exercise-induced asthma (EIA), however, single-dose agents might be favourable in several aspects. OBJECTIVE: To compare the protective effects against EIA of a single inhalation of the combination disodium cromoglycate (DSCG, CAS 16110-51-3) and reproterol (REP, CAS 54063-54-6) with 3 days oral ...

High blockade of dopamine D2 receptors in the ventral striatum including the nucleus accumbens may interfere with reward anticipation and cause secondary negative symptoms such as apathy or anhedonia. This may not be the case with newer neuroleptics such as olanzapine, which show less dopamine D2 receptor blockade and a ...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as an adjuvant technique to improve functional recovery after ischaemic stroke. This study evaluated the effect of tDCS over the left frontotemporal areas in eight chronic non-fluent post-stroke aphasic patients. The protocol consisted of the assessment of picture naming (accuracy and response ...

Controlled studies have shown that monitoring of the exhaled nitric oxide fraction (F(eNO)) improves asthma management. However, the studies seldom consider the full range of patients seen in clinical practise. In the present study, the ability of F(eNO) to reflect asthma control over time is investigated in a regular clinical ...

PURPOSE: The dynamics of partial seizures originating from neocortical and mesial temporal regions are thought to differ, yet there are no quantitative comparative studies. The studies reported here investigate the duration of complex partial seizures in these populations using analyses of seizures recorded from intracranial arrays. METHODS: Data were collected ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Contrast-induced nephropathy is one of the few preventable forms of acute kidney injury. Several pharmacologic agents have been evaluated for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy, yet disappointingly, few have been shown conclusively to reduce the risk for this condition. A series of studies have demonstrated that volume ...

Based on two clinical observations of adverse reactions during exercise with latex sport bands, we aimed to assess the possible risk for allergic patients posed by this equipment by investigating allergen content and IgE binding potential. Protein extracts of three different latex sport bands were characterized with sera of latex ...

Opioid-induced bowel dysfunction is a distressing condition that may persist indefinitely in the clinical setting. As we understand more about normal gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, we are also beginning to understand more fully how opioids cause bowel dysfunction. Current therapeutic interventions for opioid-induced bowel dysfunction can be burdensome and sometimes lack ...

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction occurs in a large proportion of children with asthma, limiting everyday activities important for their physical and social development. The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to compare the ability of different patterns of antiasthmatic treatment, recommended in childhood asthma, to protect patients from exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. ...

The prevalence of asthma and allergic disease in children has been increasing in developed countries, but there is little information on these trends in Africa. The aim of this study was to assess time trends in the symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic eczema among South African adolescents. The ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that pediatric residents would display similar levels of asthma interpersonal and communication skills in announced versus unannounced adolescent standardized patient (SP) encounters. METHODS: We conducted a prospective repeat measures experimental study at a pediatric residency program at an inner-city ...

AIMS: We investigated the effect of several Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), on the preoptic nerve oxygen tension (ONPO2), as indomethacin previously has demonstrated a strong decreasing effect on ONPO2. We tested whether these NSAIDs, like indomethacin, also reduce the increasing effect of dorzolamide on ONPO2. METHODS: ONPO2 was measured 0.5 ...

Although asthma is the most common cause of cough, wheeze, and dyspnea in children and adults, asthma is often attributed inappropriately to symptoms from other causes. Cough that is misdiagnosed as asthma can occur with pertussis, cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, airway abnormalities such as tracheomalacia and bronchomalacia, chronic purulent ...

This study aimed to evaluate the association of diet with respiratory symptoms and asthma in schoolchildren in Taipei, Taiwan. An in-class interview survey elicited experiences of asthma and respiratory symptoms and consumption frequencies of the major food categories in 2290 fifth graders. Respiratory symptoms surveyed included persistent cough, chest tightness, ...

Secreted phospholipase A(2) enzymes (sPLA(2)s) play key regulatory roles in the biosynthesis of eicosanoids, such as the cysteinyl leukotrienes, but the role of these enzymes in the pathogenesis of asthma is not known. To establish if sPLA(2)s are overexpressed in the airways of patients with asthma, and to determine if ...

AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of asthma and related respiratory symptoms in a sample of the Siena pediatric population that engages in sport. METHODS: The subjects were 460 young athletes, age 7-14 years, enrolled in 23 sporting clubs in 10 municipalities of Siena Province. ...

Montelukast sodium (Singulair, Merck and Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ) is a selective and orally-active leukotriene receptor antagonist with demonstrated effectiveness for treating allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis in adults and children as young as 12 months of age for allergic asthma and 6 months of age for allergic rhinitis. ...

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) is a model for the adenoma-carcinoma sequence in several respects. One important area in which FAP serves as a model is chemoprevention. Early prevention trials mainly utilized micronutrients and were largely unsuccessful in preventing or causing regression of adenomas. A new era was ushered in by ...

PURPOSE: Spirometry performed by adolescents with refractory wheeze or stridor and respiratory distress, with normal room air oxygen saturation, may differentiate subjects not having an acute asthma exacerbation (AE-) from those who are (AE+). A subpopulation may also be identified that has flow volume loop (FVL) patterns consistent with vocal ...

PURPOSE: In normal binocular single vision adaptation to an induced deviation occurs over a period of several minutes. This study investigates the effect on stereoacuity during vergence adaptation. METHODS: Stereoacuity, using the Frisby near stereotest, was measured in 20 participants aged 20.2 +/- 1.9 years with normal binocular single vision. ...

Despite long-term studies, still not much is known about the asthma triggering factors and its sometimes controversial results. Probably one of the major problems of controversy is the lack of specific and accurate diagnosis of this disease. The aim of this study was to assess lung function, atopy, and environmental ...

Although prudent exercise is recommended for most patients with well-controlled asthma, many patients avoid exercise and physical activity because they are concerned about triggering asthma. In a sample of 258 asthma patients (mean age 42 years, 75% women), the objectives of this study were to assess the two-minute walk test ...

To date, there are few reports of paroxysmal exercise-induced dystonia associated with familial epilepsy. We describe a family with 4 affected members spanning 3 generations, suggestive of autosomal-dominant inheritance, who exhibited typical exercise-induced dystonia, different types of epilepsy (absence and primary generalized seizures), developmental delay, and migraine in variable combinations. ...

Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) occurs with a high prevalence in both asthmatic and nonasthmatic individuals. Although understanding of the functional genomics (proteomics) in sports medicine remains limited, this review focuses on immunologic changes as reflected in transcriptional regulation in respect to EIA. Studies demonstrated that leukotrienes play a significant role in ...

OBJECTIVE: Data mining algorithms (DMAs) are being applied to spontaneous reporting system (SRS) databases in the hope of obtaining timely insights into post-licensure safety data. Some DMAs have been characterized as "objective" screening tools. However, there are numerous available modifiable configuration parameters to choose from, including choice of vendor, that ...

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response to a sudden noise is the reduction in startle observed when the noise is preceded shortly by a mild sensory event, which is often a tone. A part of the literature is based on the assumption that PPI is independent of the baseline ...

Exercise challenge tests are helpful in the diagnosis and management of childhood asthma, but methodology is complex and time-consuming. The aim of this study was to investigate whether exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) can be predicted by the results of different surrogate tests in a pediatric population. Eighty-five children (mean age: 11 ...

Cough variant asthma is known as a major cause of chronic cough. Fundamental features of cough variant asthma are prolonged non-productive cough responding to bronchodilator therapy, no history of wheezing or dyspnea attack, normal cough sensitivity and slightly increased bronchial responsiveness. Recently, we reported the animal model of cough variant ...

Cough is one of the most common reasons why patients visit physicians. The opioid codeine has been a mainstay in the treatment of cough for decades and this drug is widely regarded as the 'gold standard' cough suppressant. Recent placebo-controlled studies have shown that codeine is no more effective than ...

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have investigated the influence of diet on asthma in schoolchildren, none of them has evaluated how obesity can modify this effect. A study was undertaken to evaluate the association of various foods and a Mediterranean diet with the prevalence of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis, adjusting for obesity ...

The purpose of the research was to develop, implement, and evaluate a new adult asthma self-management program with a multidisciplinary perspective. Small groups of adults met for 2 hr for 7 consecutive weekly meetings. Participants were asked to practice asthma specific behaviors (including peak expiratory flow monitoring, avoidance/removal of asthma ...

Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) is a nonorganic disorder of the larynx that involves unintentional paradoxical adduction of the vocal cords while breathing. VCD is a relatively rare condition that may mimic asthma or upper airway obstruction. VCD often coexists with asthma, and should be suspected in any patient in whom ...

Exercise decreases the antinociceptive effects of opiate drugs. It has been hypothesized that the exercise-induced attenuation of opiate drug action is the result of the development of cross-tolerance between endogenous opioids released during exercise and exogenous opiates. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of exercise on non-opiate ...

BACKGROUND: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) video questionnaire was developed to overcome the language and cultural differences in the assessment of asthma-like symptoms. METHODS: 27 schools were included in the Maputo Asthma and Allergies in childhood Study (MAPAAS) using ISAAC methods, and a video questionnaire ...

Heparins are widely used as anticoagulants. Immunologically-mediated side effects raise the question as to whether other substances with heparin-like pharmacological effects can be safely applied. Hypersensitivity reactions to heparin consist of heparin-induced immune thrombocytopenia, allergic vasculitis, hypereosinophilia, immediate hypersensitivity as well as delayed-type skin reactions. Hypersensitivity to unfractionated and low-molecular-weight ...

Patients with asthma often report symptoms of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. We performed cardiopulmonary exercise testing to establish the cause of exercise limitation in patients with asthma, under treatment, who reported symptoms of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Ten of the 42 patients meeting criteria for inclusion in our study (24%) developed exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Exercise ...

Preventive effects of lasers on enamel caries have been documented in the past few decades. However, its specific mechanism remains uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the laser-induced change of enamel compositions, including carbonate and organic matters using Fourier-transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman). METHODS: Twelve windows (1 mm x 1 mm), created on ...

Spring-flushing, over-wintered buds of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) produce new buds that may follow various developmental pathways. These include second flushing in early summer or dormancy before flushing during the following spring. Second flushing usually entails an initial release of apical dominance as some of the current-season upper lateral ...